Method of using a material based on a caoutchouc-type mixture for producing hard rubber in order to fabricate engine components, and engine components manufactured from such material

ABSTRACT

Into a material based on a caoutchouc-type or caoutchouc-containing mixture for producing hard rubber, there is incorporated a pre-mix containing high-strength organic fibers and a liquid hardenable plastic material. The high-strength and temperature resistant material thus obtained is particularly suitable for the attenuation of noise in combustion engines when heavy-weight fillers are also added to such material. Engine components like, for example, valve covers, timing gear covers and oil pans can be manufactured from this material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of applicants' copendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/774,003, filed Sept. 9, 1985, andentitled "Material Based on a Caoutchouc-type Mixture For Producing HardRubber, Method Of Using Such Material For Producing Engine Components,And Engine Components Manufactured From Such Material".

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and improved material which isbased on a caoutchouc-type or caoutchouc-containing mixture forproducing hard rubber. In the context of this disclosure and as will beapparent from the following description, the terms "caoutchouc-type" or"caoutchouc-containing mixture" means a mixture comprising syntheticrubber or natural rubber in the unvulcanized condition or state. Thepresent invention of this application specifically relates to a new andimproved method of using such material for producing engine componentsand also further relates to new and improved engine componentsmanufactured from such material.

Hitherto, materials of such type predominantly have been employed incases in which the properties of hard rubber were essential, forexample, like its chemical resistance and its excellent electricalinsulating properties. Such materials, as compared to plastic materials,have the advantage that their elastic modulus can be varied in wideranges by varying the amount of sulfur and filler content. Such standardor "classic" hard rubber materials have a certain thermal plasticity,whereby their use is limited to components which are not subjected toelevated temperatures or thermal loads. Also, these hard rubbermaterials heretofore could not be employed in cases in which a very highmaterial strength was required, for example, as a substitute formetallic components in machine constructions, plant constructions andengine constructions. However, it is desirable in just those fields toutilize the advantages of hard rubber like, for example, its chemicalresistance and to employ a material which is resistant against the mostvarious attacks by, for example, acids, caustic solutions and variousoils and so forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, with the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a new and improved method of using amaterial based on a caoutchouc-type or caoutchouc-containing mixture forproducing hard rubber in order to fabricate predetermined parts orcomponents and which material possesses high strength and substantiallyincreased temperature or heat resistance.

Another significant object of the present invention is directed to a newand improved use of such material which is based on a caoutchouc-type orcaoutchouc-containing mixture for producing hard rubber, formanufacturing components, particularly in machine constructions, plantconstructions and engine constructions, as a substitute for metals fromwhich such components have been manufactured heretofore.

An important further object of the present invention is directed to newand improved machine or engine components which are manufactured from aheat resistant and oil resistant material based on a caoutchouc-type orcaoutchouc-containing mixture for producing hard rubber.

A further significant object of the present invention is directed to newand improved engine components which are manufactured from a heatresistant and oil resistant hard rubber-type material and promote noiseattenuation of the engine at which such inventive engine components aremounted.

Now in order to implement these and still further objects of theinvention, which will become more readily apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the material of the present development is manifested by thefeatures that, a pre-mix containing high-strength organic fibers and aliquid hardenable plastic material, is incorporated into the caoutchoucmixture in order to obtain the caoutchouc-type or caoutchouc-containingmixture for producing hard rubber.

Due to the inventive measures, there is obtained a high-strengthmaterial having a high temperature or heat resistance. By appropriatelyselecting the elastomers for the caoutchouc mixture there is obtained,in combination with the proportion of hardenable plastic materialcontained in such caoutchouc mixture and with the fiber reinforcement, amaterial which, in addition to its high temperature or heat resistanceand its high mechanical strength, possesses a chemical resistance whichcan be adapted to the momentary contemplated field of use.

The pre-mix formed by the high-strength organic fibers and the liquidhardenable plastic material permits the fibers to be incorporated intothe caoutchouc mixture in a so-called nest-free or lump-free manner,i.e. without bunching or agglomerations of the fibers. Prior experimentswithout such measures have failed, particularly because there could notbe obtained a homogeneous distribution of the fibers throughout themixture. Particularly, non-dispersed nests or lumps of fibers formed andrendered the material useless. The excellent properties of the inventivematerial make this material particularly interesting for use formanufacturing components of machines, plants or engines.

According to a further development of the inventive material, thehigh-strength organic fibers are preimpregnated with liquid caoutchouc.This measure permits the incorporation of very high fiber proportions inthe case that the amount of the liquid hardenable plastic materialcontained in the caoutchouc-type or caoutchouc-containing material mustnot be exceeded and which liquid hardenable plastic material is adaptedto and advantageous for the momentary contemplated field of use of thehard rubber material. In such case, parts of a pre-selected caoutchouccontained in the caoutchouc mixture are replaced by the liquidcaoutchouc.

It has been found to be particularly advantageous when aramid fibers areincorporated into the pre-mix as the high-strengh organic fibers.

According to a further development of the inventive material, polyesterfibers and poly-acrylonitrile fibers are also quite suitable. Thesetypes of fibers withstand, to a large extent, the shearing stresseswhich occur during the mixing operation, and can be homogeneouslydistributed in the caoutchouc mixture. Such fibers are commerciallyavailable in various fiber lengths under the trademarks, "KEVLAR"(Dupont Co., Wilmington, Del.), "TREVIRA" (Hoechst AG, Frankfurt amMain, West Germany) and "DOLANIT" (Hoechst AG, Frankfurt am Main, WestGermany).

Fibers having a length in the range of about 0.5 to about 70 mm,preferably in the range of about 1 to about 60 mm, can be incorporatedinto the pre-mix particularly well and without any problems. Fibers ofthese lengths also ensure the high mechanical strengh of the inventivematerial.

According to a further advantageous development of the presentinvention, the proportion of fibers is in the range of 10 to 100 parts,preferably up to 60 parts of fibers per 100 parts by weight ofpre-selected caoutchouc contained in the caoutchouc mixture. Theproportion of fibers is selected depending upon the contemplated fieldof use of the inventive material. The indicated ranges ensure that thefibers are homogeneously, and without problems, incorporated into themixture.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,the liquid hardenable plastic material is selected from the groupessentially consisting of liquid phenolic resin, liquid polyester resin,liquid epoxide resin or a mixture containing at least two of theaforementioned resins. The phenolic resin and the polyester resin areemployed when a high temperature or heat resistance of the material isdesired. The epoxide resin is particularly employed when the chemicalresistance of the material is of interest.

In the aforementioned mixtures, the proportion of the liquid resin, inthe inventive material, amounts to about 20 to about 200 parts per 100parts by weight of the pre-selected caoutchouc contained in thecaoutchouc mixture.

As the pre-selected caoutchouc contained in the caoutchouc mixture,nitrile caoutchouc, natural caoutchouc or a mixture of nitrilecaoutchouc and natural caoutchouc are particularly well suited.

Depending upon the contemplated field of use, fillers can be added tothe material, preferably in the range of about 200 to about 1,000 partsby weight per 100 parts by weight of the pre-selected caoutchouc. Bycorrespondingly selecting the filler, there can be obtained, forexample, a resistnce against chemicals which is adapted to the momentarycontemplated field of use.

When the material, according to a further preferred embodiment of theinventive material, contains heavy-weight fillers like, for example,barytes or a metal powder, then a material is formed which not onlypossesses the excellent properties already described hereinbefore, butwhich also constitutes a material of a density exceeding the density ofaluminum. The material is thus of interest particularly for noiseattenuation of combustion engines, for example, vehicle engines andstationary or non-mobile engines.

According to the inventive method of using the aforedescribed materials,the engine component which constitutes a troublesome source of noiselike, for example, a valve cover, a timing gear cover, an oil pan or anoil cooler cover is manufactured from the inventive material. Hitherto,encapsulation was employed in connection with combustion engines whichconstitutes a quite effective method, however, frequently cannot be usedfor reasons of space. Also, suitable constructional measures wereprescribed for designing the related engine components. In those casesin which noise attenuation can be achieved by complete or partialencapsulation, there exists the substantial disadvantage that access tothe engine is difficult. Apart therefrom, this method is very expensiveand costly. This is also true for the aforementioned measures fordesigning or constructing noise attenuating engine components.

In comparison to conventional materials for such engine components like,for example, aluminum or steel sheet, there is obtained the requiredmechanical strength and temperature or heat resistance as well as asubstantially improved attenuation of solid-borne or solid propagatedand air-borne or air propagated noise or sound. A particularly usefulmaterial for constructing such engine components contains about 70 to100 parts by weight of the pre-selected caoutchouc, for example, nitrilecaoutchouc and, each of the following in parts by weight per 100 partsby weight of the preselected caoutchouc: up to 30 parts of liquidcaoutchouc, 32 to 50 parts of a cross-linking adjuvant, preferablysulfur, 30 to 60 parts of a vulcanization adjuvant, for example, zincoxide, 3 to 6 parts of vulcanization accelerator, 500 to 700 parts of aheavy-weight filler, 50 to 100 parts of the liquid hardenable plasticmaterial, for example, phenolic resin containing cross-linking agent inan amount of about 10% of the phenolic resin, and 20 to 50 parts of thehigh-strength organic fibers, for example, aramid fibers.

An engine component which is manufactured from such a material possessesan extremely favorable noise or sound behavior with respect toattenuating solid-borne and air-borne sound. According to a furtherdevelopment of the inventive concept, the attenuation of solid-bornenoise or sound can be further, and substantially, improved byvibrationally decoupling the engine component from the engine block ofthe combustion engine.

In one construction of the inventive engine component, it is suggestedthat, for vibrational decoupling, a flange member which is provided formounting the engine component at the engine block, is embedded into asoft rubber layer which preferably is oil resistant and temperature orheat resistant.

When there are present larger spaces or distances between the mountingscrews or bolts, it can be advantageous for obtaining an optimum sealingof the related engine component relative to the engine block if ametallic auxiliary frame member is provided for mounting the enginecomponent at the engine block. Such metallic auxiliary frame member isthen embedded or mounted separately from the engine component in or atthe soft rubber layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those setforth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein throughout the various figures of thedrawings there have been generally used the same reference characters todenote the same or analogous components and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a first exemplaryembodiment of an inventive engine component and shows its mounting at anengine block; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a second exemplary embodiment ofthe inventive engine component and shows its mounting at the engineblock.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The inventive material, its mode of preparation, its physical propertiesand preferred uses thereof will now be explained in more detailhereinbelow with reference to specific but not limiting examples.

EXAMPLE 1

For preparing the material based on the caoutchouc-type orcaoutchouc-containing mixture for producing hard rubber and comprising acaoutchouc material, a pre-mix containing high-strength organic fibersand a liquid hardenable plastic material, the following ranges of mixingproportions are particularly advantageous. The caoutchouc-type orcaoutchouc-containing mixture contains, each in 100 parts by weight ofpreselected caoutchouc:

CAOUTCHOUC MATERIAL

50 to 100 parts of the pre-selected caoutchouc;

30 to 50 parts of cross-linking adjuvant;

10 to 100 parts of vulcanization adjuvant;

1 to 6 parts of vulcanization accelerator; and

200 to 1,000 parts of filler;

PRE-MIX

20 to 200 parts of liquid hardenable plastic material;

2 to 20 parts of cross-linking agent for the liquid hardenable plasticmaterial;

0 to 50 parts of liquid caoutchouc; and

10 to 100 parts of high-strength organic fibers.

As the pre-selected caoutchouc for preparing the caoutchouc materialthere can be used, for example, nitrile caoutchouc, natural caoutchouc,styrene-butadiene caoutchouc or conventional mixtures of thesecaoutchouc types. This pre-selected caoutchouc is mixed withconventional additives like vulcanization adjuvants, for example, zincoxide or lead oxide, with cross-linking adjuvants, for example, sulfurand with conventional vulcanization accelerators like, for example,basic carbonates and oxides of lead supplemented by magnesium or lime,aldehyde-amines, guanidines, thiuram sulfides, thiazoles, thiazolines,dithiocarbamates, mercaptoimidazolines. Depending on the contemplatedfield of use, there are used as fillers, for example, for purposes ofnoise attenuation, heavy-weight fillers like barytes or a metal powder,for example, iron or lead. There can also be used a number of otherknown fillers which have a chemical resistance adapted to the momentarypurpose of use.

As the liquid hardenable plastic material, there is used in particularphenolic resin, polyester resin, epoxide resin or a mixture of theseresins containing a commercially available cross-linking agent.

As the liquid caoutchouc, there is suited, for example, low-molecularsynthetic caoutchouc or depolymerized natural caoutchouc.

Particularly suitable high-strength organic fibers are aramid fibers,polyester fibers and poly-acrylonitrile fibers. Aramid fibers areavailable in different fiber lengths or as felt fibers under theaforementioned trademark "KEVLAR" (Dupont Co., Wilmington, Del.).Polyester fibers and poly-acrylonitrile fibers are commerciallyavailable in the market under the respective aforementioned trademarks"TREVIRA" (Hoechst AG, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany) and "DOLANIT"(Hoechst AG, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany). Preferably, fibers areused which have a staple fiber length in the range of about 0.5 to about70 mm, particularly in the range of about 1 to about 60 mm. Such fibersensure high mechanical strength of the material and can be readilyworked into the material mixture.

During the manufacture of the inventive material, a pre-mix is preparedfrom the fibers to be used and with the addition of the liquid resinand, if desired, liquid caoutchouc. There is thus formed a fiber pastewhich can be incorporated or worked in a substantially fiber nest-freeor lump-free manner into the caoutchouc material provided with thefillers. This incorporation is performed using one of the conventionalmixing processes employing rollers or kneaders. The high-strengthorganic fibers withstand, to a large extent, the shearing stressesoccurring during such mixing process and are homogenously distributedthroughout the mixture.

Depending upon the contemplated field of use, the mixture is furtherprocessed by extruding, injection molding or pressing.

The inventive material has a number of properties which make thismaterial particularly suited for a number of purposes or fields of usewhich will be described further hereinbelow. Depending upon thecontemplated field of use, its hardness is approximately in the range ofbetween about 80 and about 95 Shore D. The fiber reinforcement causes ahigh mechanical strength, particularly a high bending or flexuralstrength and impact strength. The resin proportion results in anexcellent temperature or heat resistance which, when determinedaccording to German Industrial Standard No. 53,460, is above 250° C.

Due to such excellent properties, a preferred field of use of theinventive material is the noise attenuation of combustion engines. Forsuch use, a number of otherwise troublesome noise generating enginecomponents are replaced by engine components which advantageously aremanufactured directly from the inventive material. In such use, there isadmixed to the material, a heavy-weight filler so that a density can beobtained which exceeds the density of aluminum. As a result, there canbe achieved a very favorable sound absorbing effect. Troublesome sourcesof noise or sound in combustion engines are particularly the valvecovers, the timing gear covers, the oil pans and the oil cooler covers.Such engine components can be manufactured in their entirety or at leastin part from the inventive material.

When the engine component which is manufactured from the inventivematerial, is mounted at the engine block with the interposing of anappropriate, conventional seal or gasket, the solid-borne noise or soundis very strongly attenuated and also the air-borne noise or sound iscorrespondingly reduced in comparison to conventional constructions madeof aluminum or steel sheet or plating. Related measurements have shownthat a modal of noise attenuation behavior can be readily achieved whichis improved by a factor of 10 over the noise attenuation behavior ofaluminum components or components which are made of steel sheet orplating. It has been found that the noise attenuation action of theinventive material is already present to the full extent, particularlyin the acoustically important frequency range of 1,000 to 2,000 Hz.

The following second example illustrates an exemplary mixture for suchnoise attenuation material which is particularly suited as a materialfor manufacturing the aforementioned engine components.

EXAMPLE 2

90 parts nitrile caoutchouc;

10 parts liquid caoutchouc;

35 parts cross-linking adjuvant (sulfur);

40 parts zinc oxide;

5 parts vulcanization accelerator;

700 parts heavy-weight filler;

80 parts liquid phenolic resin;

8 parts resin cross-linking agent; and

25 parts aramid fibers

An additional reduction of the solid-borne noise or sound level and thusalso of the air-borne noise or sound level is achieved by vibrationallydecoupling the engine component which is manufactured from the inventivematerial such as, for example, the valve cover, from the engine block.

It is to be understood that only enough of the construction of theengine component has been shown in the accompanying drawings of FIGS. 1and 2 as is needed for those skilled in the art to readily understandthe underlying principles and concepts of the present development, whilesimplifying the showing of the drawings. Turning attention now to FIGS.1 and 2 of the drawings, there are illustrated two exemplary embodimentsdepicting vibrational decoupling from the engine block of the enginecomponent which is manufactured from the inventive material. Suchvibrational decoupling is achieved by the interposing of an oilresistant and temperature or heat resistant soft rubber layer. Each ofthe two Figures represents a sectional view of the mounting region ofthe aforementioned engine component. The engine component is designatedby the reference numerals 1 and 1' in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, andis manufactured from the inventive material. Such engine component mayconstitute, for example, a timing gear cover, a valve cover, an oil panor an oil cooler cover.

According to the illustration in FIG. 1, the engine component 1 containsan encircling flange member 6 which is provided for mounting the enginecomponent 1 at the engine block 5 and which is embedded in a soft rubberlayer 2. As illustrated, the soft rubber layer 2 covers the entireengine component 1 and thus an additional positive effect with respectto the noise attenuating action achieved by the engine component 1 canbe obtained.

At greater screw or bolt mounting distances, it may be advantageous forproviding the required sealing action if the engine component 1', asillustrated in FIG. 2, is mounted at the engine block 5 by means of ametallic auxiliary frame member 4. The region or section of the enginecomponent 1', which region is associated with the engine block 5, isembedded in a soft rubber layer 2'. A further portion of the soft rubberlayer 2' is interposed between the metallic auxiliary frame member 4 andthe engine block 5 so that vibrational decoupling is ensured.

Due to the use of the soft rubber layer 2 or 2', it is not absolutelynecessary that a separate seal is used. The required sealing forces areapplied either by means of the engine component 1 in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1 or by means of the metallic auxiliary frame member4 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2.

There exists a multitude of possibilities for using the inventivematerial, particularly in the field of engine construction. Bycorrespondingly varying the formula or recipe, the resistance againstchemicals can be readily adapted to further contemplated purposes orfields of use in the general field of machine construction in which thehigh strength and temperature or heat resistance are also of advantage.Thus, for example, a mixture can be made resistant particularly againsthot water-glycol mixtures by using and selecting corresponding polymersand fillers. From such material, for example, water pump rotors forcombustion engines can be produced. When there is obtained chemicalresistance against hot sulfuric acid by appropriate measures concerningthe selection of the caoutchouc, the filler and the resin, there canalso be fabricated from this material, for example, tube sheets orplates for spin bath evaporators.

While there are shown and described present preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is notlimited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practicedwithin the scope of the following claims.

Accordingly, what we claim is:
 1. A method of fabricating an enginecomponent from a rubber mixture for producing hard rubber, said rubbermixture containing a preselected synthetic nitrile rubber, anothersynthetic diene rubber or natural rubber, vulcanizing adjuvants, atleast one filler and a pre-mix containing high-strength organic fibersand a liquid hardenable plastic material, and fabricating an enginecomponent from said rubber mixture;said at least one filler beingpresent in said rubber mixture in an amount in a proportion in the rangeof 200 to 1000 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of saidpreselected rubber; said pre-mix being present in an amount in aproportion in the range of 30 to 350 parts by weight per 100 parts byweight of said preselected rubber; said pre-mix further containing aliquid low molecular weight synthetic rubber or liquid depolymerizednatural rubber present in an amount in the range of about 0 to about 50parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of said preselected rubber; saidliquid hardenable plastic material containing a cross-linking agent forhardening said liquid hardenable plastic material; said liquidhardenable plastic material being selected from the group consisting ofliquid phenolic resin, liquid polyester resin, liquid epoxy resin and amixture of at least two of the aforementioned resins; said liquidhardenable plastic resin being present in an amount in a proportion inthe range of about 20 to about 200 parts by weight per 100 parts of saidpreselected rubber; said high-strength organic fibers being selectedfrom the group consisting of aramid fibers, polyester fibers andpolyacrylonitrile fibers which substantially withstand the shearingstresses occurring during the material mixing operation; and saidhigh-strength organic fibers being present in an amount in a proportionin the range of about 10 to about 100 parts by weight per 100 parts byweight of said preselected rubber.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1,wherein:said engine component is a valve cover.
 3. The method as definedin claim 1, wherein:said engine component is a timing gear cover.
 4. Themethod as defined in claim 1, wherein:said engine component is an oilpan.
 5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein:said engine componentis an oil cooler cover.
 6. The method as defined in claim 1,wherein:said high-strength organic fibers are high-strength fibers whichare pre-impregnated with said liquid low molecular weight syntheticrubber or liquid depolymerized natural rubber.
 7. The method as definedin claim 1, wherein:said high-strength organic fibers are high-strengthorganic fibers which have a fiber length in the range of about 0.5 toabout 70 mm.
 8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein:saidhigh-strength organic fibers are high-strength organic fibers which havea fiber length in the range of about 1 to about 60 mm.
 9. The method asdefined in claim 1, wherein:said high-strength organic fibers arecontained in said rubber material in a proportion in the range of about10 to about 60 parts per 100 parts by weight of said preselected rubbercontained in said rubber material.
 10. The method as defined in claim 1,wherein:said preselected rubber is selected from the group consisting ofnitrile rubber, natural rubber and a mixture of nitrile rubber andnatural rubber.
 11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein:saidfiller is a heavy-weight filler selected from the group consisting ofbarytes and metal powder.
 12. A method of fabricating an enginecomponent from a rubber mixture for producing hard rubber, said rubbermixture containing a pre-selected synthetic rubber or natural rubber, apre-mix containing a mixture of high-strength organic fibers and aliquid hardenable plastic material, and fabricating an engine componentfrom said material;said rubber mixture containing a rubber selected fromthe group consisting of nitrile rubber, natural rubber, and a mixture ofnitrile rubber and natural rubber; said high-strength organic fibers ofsaid pre-mix being selected from the group consisting of aramid fibers,polyester fibers and polyacrylonitrile fibers; said high-strengthorganic fibers being present in an amount in a proportion in the rangeof about 10 to about 100 parts per 100 parts of rubber contained in saidrubber mixture; said liquid hardenable plastic material being selectedfrom the group consisting of liquid phenolic resin, liquid polyesterresin, liquid epoxide resin and a mixture of at least two of theaforementioned resins; and said liquid hardenable plastic resin beingpresent in an amount in a proportion in the range of about 20 to about200 parts per 100 parts of rubber contained in said rubber mixture. 13.An engine component manufactured from a rubber mixture for producinghard rubber, said rubber mixture containing a rubber material whichcontains a preselected synthetic nitrile rubber, another synthetic dienerubber or natural rubber, vulcanizing additives, at least one filler anda pre-mix containing a liquid hardenable plastic material andhigh-strength organic fibers, said engine component comprising:a rubbermaterial containing: (a) 70 to 100 parts by weight of said preselectedrubber; (b) said vulcanizing additives comprising:(i) 30 to 50 parts ofa cross-linking agent; (ii) 30 to 60 parts of a vulcanization adjuvant;(iii) 3 to 6 parts of a vulcanization accelerator; (c) 500 to 700 partsof a heavy-weight filler; said heavy-weight filler being selected fromthe group consisting of barytes and a preselected metal powder; saidpre-mix being present in an amount in the range of 70 to 180 parts; saidpre-mix containing: up to 30 parts of liquid low molecular weightsynthetic rubber or liquid depolymerized natural rubber; said liquidhardenable plastic material containing a cross-linking agent forhardening said liquid hardenable plastic material; said liquidhardenable plastic material being selected from the group consisting ofliquid phenolic resin, liquid polyester resin, liquid epoxy resin and amixture of at least two of the aforementioned resins; said liquidhardenable plastic resin being present in an amount in the range ofabout 50 to about 100 parts; said high-strength organic fibers beingselected from high-strength organic fibers which substantially withstandthe shearing stresses occurring during the material mixing operation;said high-strength organic fibers being selected from the groupconsisting of aramid fibers, polyester fibers and poly-acrylonitrilefibers; said high-strength organic fibers being present in an amount inthe range of about 20 to about 50 parts; and each one of saidcross-linking agent, said vulcanization adjuvant, said vulcanizationaccelerator, said heavy-weight filler, said pre-mix, said liquid lowmolecular weight synthetic rubber or liquid depolymerized naturalrubber, said liquid hardenable plastic material, and said high-strengthorganic fibers being present in parts by weight per 100 parts by weightof said preselected rubber.
 14. The engine component as defined in claim13, wherein:said preselected rubber is preselected from the groupconsisting of nitrile rubber.
 15. The engine component as defined inclaim 13, wherein:said cross-linking agent constitutes sulfur.
 16. Theengine component as defined in claim 13, wherein:said vulcanizationadjuvant constitutes zinc oxide.
 17. The engine component as defined inclaim 13, wherein:said liquid hardenable plastic material is selectedfrom the group essentially consisting of phenolic resins; and saidphenolic resin containing about 10% by weight of said cross-linkingagent.
 18. The engine component as defined in claim 13, furtherincluding:means for mounting said engine component at an engine block ina vibrationally decoupled manner.
 19. The engine component as defined inclaim 18, wherein:said means for mounting said engine component at saidengine block in a vibrationally decoupled manner constitutes a softrubber layer; said engine component containing a flange member formounting said engine component at said engine block; and said flangemember being embedded into said soft rubber layer.
 20. The enginecomponent as defined in claim 19, wherein:said soft rubber layerconstitutes an oil resistant and heat resistant soft rubber layer. 21.The engine component as defined in claim 18, wherein:said means formounting said engine component at said engine block in a vibrationallydecoupled manner constitutes a soft rubber layer; a metallic auxiliaryframe member for mounting said engine component at said engine block;said engine component being at least partially embedded into said softrubber layer separately from said metallic auxiliary frame member. 22.The engine component as defined in claim 21, wherein:said soft rubberlayer constitutes an oil resistant and heat resistant soft rubber layer.23. An engine component manufactured from a rubber mixture for producinghard rubber, which rubber mixture is produced from a rubber materialcontaining a pre-selected synthetic rubber or natural rubber and intowhich there is incorporated a pre-mix containing a liquid hardenableplastic material and high-strength organic fibers, said engine componentcomprising:70 to 100 parts by weight of said pre-selected rubbercontained in said rubber material; said pre-selected rubber beingselected from the group consisting of nitrile rubber, natural rubber,and a mixture of nitrile rubber and natural; up to 30 parts of liquidlow molecular weight synthetic rubber or liquid depolymerized naturalrubber; 30 to 50 parts of a cross-linking agent; 30 to 60 parts of avulcanization adjuvant; 3 to 6 parts of a vulcanization accelerator; 500to 700 parts of a heavy-weight filler; 50 to 100 parts of said liquidhardenable plastic material; said liquid hardenable plastic materialbeing selected from the group consisting of liquid phenolic resin,liquid polyester resin, liquid epoxy resin and a mixture of at least twoof the aforementioned resins; said liquid hardenable plastic resin beingpresent in an amount in a proportion in the range of about 20 to about200 parts per 100 parts of said pre-selected rubber contained in rubbermixture; 20 to 50 parts of said high-strength organic fibers; saidhigh-strength organic fibers being selected from the group consisting ofaramid fibers, polyester fibers and polyacrylonitrile fibers; saidhigh-strength organic fibers being present in an amount in a proportionin the range of about 10 to about 100 parts per 100 parts of saidpreselected rubber in said rubber mixture; and each one of said liquidlow molecular weight synthetic rubber or liquid depolymerized naturalrubber, said cross-linking agent, said vulcanization adjuvant, saidvulcanization accelerator, said heavy-weight filler, said hardenableplastic material, and said high-strength organic fibers being present inparts by weight per 100 parts by weight of said preselected rubber.